Viticulture in Corsica

NASA satellite image of Corsica

The Corsica wine goes to roots dating back to ancient times back Corsica, as for various other peoples, the Romans colonized the island. The first more intensive promotion of viticulture, however, can only be traced back to the rule of the Genoese in the Middle Ages, who had the wine grown by law primarily for economic interests. Corsica offers very good geological and climatic conditions for cultivation, which one made use of. Today, Corsican wines are among the popular exotic wines among French wines, as grapes grow on the island that are otherwise not or only rarely planted in France. Internationally, however, the reputation of Corsican wine is not very good, as cheap country wines from the eastern monocultures dominate the picture. Most of the wine is consumed by the locals and tourists in Corsica themselves.

geography

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea , off the west coast of Italy and is bordered by the Ligurian Sea to the north, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the east and south and the Western Mediterranean Sea to the west. The distance to France (Nice) is 180 kilometers, the Italian mainland on the other hand is only 83 kilometers away (Livorno), the Italian island of Sardinia on the Strait of Bonifacio in the south is only 12 kilometers. From north (Cap Corse) to south (Capo Pertusato) the island measures 183 kilometers, from east (Alistro) to west (Capo Rosso) 83 kilometers. The area is approximately 8682 square kilometers. Because of the numerous bays, Corsica has a coastline of over 1000 kilometers. A third of it is beach, the rest is rocky coast. Much of the island consists of high mountains, only the east coast has a flat strip that is no more than ten kilometers wide. The island is very mountainous. About 86 percent of the island is mountainous and only 14 percent is coastal lowlands. Corsica has an average altitude of 568 meters.

Wine growing takes place in the valleys and plains of the coastal areas around the island, the central area is in large parts too mountainous for wine growing. The maximum height of the vineyards is around 300 m above sea level. NN.

Corsica's soils can be divided into five main types. Granite soil is found in the west of the island , slate in the north , limestone on Cap Corse and clay in Patrimonio, as well as sandy marl and mud soil in the area of ​​the east coast and in the region between Bastia and Sari-Solenzara .

climate

Climate diagram for Bastia

Corsica has a typical Mediterranean climate: hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters. The Mediterranean acts as a heat store in winter. Due to the high mountains and strong winds, there are some deviations in Corsica as well as strong regional differences.

The amount of precipitation depends on the altitude. Up to a height of 2000 meters, the precipitation is about four times as strong as on the coast. In summer the coastal regions are particularly dry; summer thunderstorms cause the rivers to swell only briefly. Corsica has more sunshine than the French mainland with around 2750 hours. On the coasts, the temperature fluctuates between 5 ° C in winter and over 30 ° C in summer. Frost is rare on the coasts. In the mountains in the higher regions there is also snowfall and closed snow cover in winter. Even in summer you can often see snow on the high mountains. Strong winds on the slopes and in the valleys prevent the spread of wine diseases that are transmitted via spores .

Differences in soil quality and climatic variances lead accordingly to very different growth and ripening conditions for the vines and the grapes.

History of Corsican viticulture

Although the cultivation of grapevines and the production of wine have their earliest roots at the time of the Greek colonization of Corsica in the 6th century BC and were continued by Roman legions from 94 BC, they were only brought about by the government in the Middle Ages Genoa promoted significantly.

Viticulture under Genoese rule

Historical viticulture in Corsica was significantly influenced by the Genoese, who owned the island from 1347 after they had been able to buy it from the Archbishop of Pisa . Genoa ruled the island (with interruptions) for 400 years, and many buildings and other traces from this period can be found to this day. In 1572 there was a decree of the Genoese government, according to which all families in Corsica were obliged to plant four vines each. On December 20, 1658, another decree was issued which obliged every Corsican to plant a fruit or olive tree or, alternatively, 20 vines. The export of grapes and wine was only allowed to the Republic of Genoa.

Italian grapes were brought to the island according to these orders. Viticulture was one of the most important industries on the island in the following centuries. From 1729 Genoa lost power over the island through the bitter independence struggle of the Corsicans; In 1769, however, it came under the rule of the French, who finally annexed it in 1789.

Viticulture until the 20th century

Phylloxera ( Daktulosphaira vitifoliae )

After France took control of Corsica, viticulture was intensified again. The area under cultivation increased from around 8,000 to over 12,000 hectares between 1789 and 1800; by 1870, around 15,000 hectares were planted with vines, and around two thirds of the population lived from viticulture. In 1873, a study found that viticulture in Corsica was the main source of income for even 75% of all Corsicans. Irony of fate: in the same year phylloxera ( Daktulosphaira vitifoliae ) appeared on the island for the first time . Within a very short time all the vines were infested and destroyed, as a result of which the island's economy collapsed. As a result, many Corsicans emigrated. After that, the First World War 1914 to 1918 and the Second World War 1939 to 1945 claimed many victims among the population. The development of viticulture declined massively during this time until the 1960s, the area under vines was reduced to around 5000 hectares by 1960, and the wine yield was not even enough to secure half of the population's own needs.

Modern viticulture after 1960

Modern viticulture in Corsica was founded by around 18,000 immigrants and refugees from the Algerian war , the pieds-noirs , whereby the Corsican population was massively disadvantaged in the allocation of land on the previously fertile east coast. The eastern plain between the towns of Cervione and Ghisonaccia was built up within a very short time. With the help of the government, large vineyards were again laid out there. Until then, this plain lay fallow because it was repeatedly ravaged by malaria . Almost 20,000 hectares of vineyards were created within a few years. The necessary investments were supported by the Somivac organization ( Société de mise en valeur de la Corse ) . Until the early 1970s, Corsica's total vineyard area increased from around 9,000 in 1953 to over 32,000 hectares in 1973. Wine again became one of the most important economic factors in Corsica. However, there were also regular scandals: Since the pieds noirs in Algeria mainly produced dark, alcohol-rich red wines that were used on the French mainland to blend with wines that lacked color and alcohol, they wanted to continue serving this lucrative market. In Corsica, however, this type of wine could only be produced by chaptalization , i.e. by adding sugar. As a result, Corsican imports of sugar rose from 300 tons in 1961 to 12,500 tons in 1970 and finally 22,000 tons in 1971. This fact is all the more astonishing since the addition of sugar to the must was forbidden from the 1969 harvest. Indeed, this illegal practice produced a net profit of 24 million French francs. This profit benefited the immigrants in particular.

Dissatisfied locals formed the association ARC ( Azzione per a Rinascità di a Corsica, Action pour la renaissance de la Corse ) around Edmond Simeoni , a predecessor organization of the Frontu di Liberazione Naziunalista Corsu (FLNC). On August 21, 1975 there was a riot near a winery near Ghisonaccia on the east coast. Locals of the ARC armed with hunting rifles occupied the wine cellar of the winemaker Henri Depeille, who was repeatedly involved in irregularities, and discovered there was massive sugar scuffing. In the further course of the conflict, the winery was evacuated by the police at gunpoint, killing two police officers and injuring one occupier. However, the good reputation of Corsican wine was already spoiled by the current reporting on the panhandles. To this day, the majority of Corsican wines are mainly considered bulk wines, which are often shipped to Languedoc in order to be added to the drinking wines there.

In the aftermath of the scandalous years, wine production fell again to almost the same extent as it had previously increased. Of the 32,000 hectares there were only around 10,900 left in 1987, in 1997 viticulture was carried out on 8,500 hectares. Today the area under vines in Corsica is only 5,800 hectares. The number of wine producers fell from 1808 in 1976 to 724 in 1987. The 2002 harvest was only declared by 377 winemakers. The total production fell from 2.2 million to about 430,000 hectoliters in 1989. In 2002 the harvest amounted to 356,000 hectoliters.

Development towards more quality

As a countermovement to this quantity production, a number of winemakers began in the late 1960s and early 1970s to bring the quality of the wine back to the fore. They became self-bottlers and relied on good grape quality. In 1968 the first French AOC ( Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée ) was awarded to a Corsican wine region, the Patrimonio . In 1976 there was a precise definition via the allocation of the Vin de Corse appellation .

As a result, the French grapes that had been introduced in the meantime were reduced again and largely replaced by the traditional local varieties. Eight other regions were awarded the AOC seal, of the 16,400 hectares of vineyards in the early 1980s, around 3700 were entitled to the seal, by 1989 this area had been reduced to around 2500 and represented around a third of the total area.

However, since Corsican wine remained largely unknown and no economic cultivation was possible in the regions that are away from the tourist centers, an interest group of self- bottlers from the AOC regions called Uvacorse was founded in 1978 , which increased the interest in various ways of Corsican wines. The organization printed promotional materials, created a Corsican wine route, organized events and designed their own wine bottle for the bottlers. The latter still bears the historic coat of arms of Corsica on the bottle neck. However, the efforts were only partially successful: To this day, Corsican wine is largely unknown outside of Corsica, on the other hand, Corsican wines are very popular with wine specialists, especially in France, due to their properties.

Grape varieties

Classical and therefore representative grape varieties in Corsica are mainly the Italian-born Carcajolo Noir , Sciaccarello and Niellucciu (that's the name of Sangiovese in Corsica) for the red wines and Genovèse and Vermentinu for the white wine. Then there are Alicante Bouschet , Aleatico , Barbarossa , Cinsaut , Carignan , Grenache , Ugni Blanc and Syrah , which were introduced with the French rule. In the last few decades in particular, this range has been supplemented by Cabernet Sauvignon , Chardonnay , Merlot , Mourvèdre and Pinot Noir and, to a very modest extent, by the aromatic Viognier variety .

As part of the quality policy in viticulture, the red varieties Aubun , Aramon , Calitor Noir , Tibouren and Gamay as well as the white Carignan Blanc , Biancone , Biancu Gentile , Gutedel , Riminese , Clairette Blanche , Macabeo , Paga Debiti and Carcajolo Blanc have practically disappeared. The same applies to numerous hybrid vines that have been cleared on a large scale since 1958 because they were banned across Europe for the cultivation of quality wine.

The formerly known variety Montanaccio ultimately turned out to be a clone of the known variety Sciacarello and was rearranged accordingly by the statistics.

Viticulture and winemaking

The majority of Corsican wine is grown and processed by winegrowers' cooperatives , but there are also regional individual bottlers. In Corsica, viticulture was traditionally carried out with free-standing vines ( gobelet training), but the increasing mechanization of berry harvesting in modern times has increasingly replaced it with training based on trellises and wire frames ( guyot training ).

With the help of EU funds, both the cooperatives and the self-bottlers purchased modern cooling and filling systems for winemaking. The white wines are fermented today at 18 to 20 ° C. The saignée process, in which around 15% of the red wine mash is extracted before fermentation , produces rosé wines that are fermented even colder than the white wines. The red wine ferments at up to 30 ° C, and then a malolactic acid conversion is sought. Fermentation takes place only rarely in oak barrels to this day, despite the very good success of individual winemakers with Vermentino, Sciacarello and Nielluccio wines.

Diseases and parasites

Now that the phylloxera problem in Corsica has been resolved, there are only a few diseases that affect the vineyards. The biggest problems today are caused by fungi, such as downy mildew , powdery mildew and the yellowing disease Flavenscence dorée , a viral disease transmitted by cicadas . The cicadas themselves do not live on the vines, but in the herbaceous plants between the vines, especially the bindweed .

Wine-growing regions

AOC regions in Corsica: (1) Cap Corse, (2) Patrimonio, (3) Balagne, (4) Ajaccio, (5) Sartène, (6) Figari, (7) Porto-Vecchio, (8) Côte orientale

Corsican wine has been officially branded under the name Vin de Corse since 1972 and is considered a French quality wine. A total of nine wine-growing regions bear the French AOC ( Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée ) .

These regions are:

• Côte orientale - AOC Vin de Corse : the east coast between Bastia and Solenzara . Main grape varieties: Niellucciu and Vermentinu
• Cap Corse - AOC Coteaux du Cap Corse: the rugged rock peninsula north of Bastia, main grape varieties: Niellucciu, Grenache , Malvoisie , Vermentinu, Muscatellu
• Cap Corse - AOC Muscat du Cap Corse : also on the Cap Corse , main grape variety: Muscat Blanc á Petite Grains
• Patrimonio - AOC Patrimonio : Area between Cap Corse and the Désert des Agriates , schisty sand and clay soils, main grape varieties: Nielluciu, Grenache, Vermentinu
• Balagne - AOC Calvi Balagne: between Calvi and the Désert des Agriates, sandy clay soils, main grape varieties: Syrah , Sciaccarellu , Vermentinu, Ugni Blanc
• Ajaccio - AOC Coteaux d'Ajaccio : West coast north from Sartène to Ajaccio , main grape varieties: Sciaccarellu, Grenache, Verentinu
• Sartène - AOC Sartène: around Sartène in the southwest of Corsica, clay and pebble soils, main grape varieties: Niellucciu, Sciaccarellu, Barbarossa, Cinsault, Vermentinu
• Figari - AOC Figari-Pianottoli: southern tip of Corsica, main grape varieties: Carcajolo, Barbarossa, Sciaccarellu, Malvoisie de Corse
• Porto-Vecchio - AOC Porto-Vecchio: Area around Porto-Vecchio , granite floors, main grape varieties: Niellucciu, Sciaccarellu, Malvoisie de Corse .

The AOC designation is subject to strict requirements regarding grape selection and processing. Red wines with the name Vin de Corse must contain at least a third of the grapes Nielluccio and Sciacarello, together with Grenache noir, the varieties must make up half of the wine contained. The proportion of other varieties may also only be a maximum of 50 percent, Carignan and Vermentino may not exceed 20 percent of the proportion. White Vin de Corse, on the other hand, must contain at least 75 percent Vermentino, regionally in the AOC Coteaux d'Ajaccio area even at least 80 percent, as the second grape only Ugni blanc and regionally on Cap du Corse Codivatra is allowed. Regional agreements apply to processing, and hand-picking is particularly mandatory.

Cote orientale

Réserve du Président , red and rosé

Alongside the Balagne, the Côte Orientale is the largest wine-growing region in Corsica. It covers the entire east coast of the island between Bastia and Solenzara, and the Golo area around Ponte-Leccia in the north of central Corsica is also assigned to this region. The vineyards are here in the eastern plain of the island. The main varieties are Niellucciu and Vermentinu, although almost all grape varieties can be found here.

The quality wines of this region are called Vin de corse ( AOC ). Currently (as of 2015) around 65,000 hectoliters of AOC wine are produced on 1,456 hectares of vineyards, including 36% red wine, 57% rosé and 8% white wine. Since 2009 the IGP (Indication géographique protégée) designation " Île-de-beauté (IGP) " has been introduced for the wines previously known as Vin de Pays (country wine). In the area, around 200,000 to 227,000 hectoliters of IGP wine are currently produced on a total of 3,150 vineyards. 35% red wines, 46% rosé wines and 19% white wines.

The Réserve du Président , which is produced as red, rosé and white wine, is one of the best-known brands in this region, including abroad . This wine comes from a wine cooperative that cultivates an area of ​​1600 hectares in the area around Aléria - 40 percent of the wine produced here is sold as AOC , the remaining 60 percent as IGP . Other well-known wines of the region are the Château de Pianiccia from Tallone , the Corsigliese from Les Vignerons de Prezza-Village , the Domaine Vico from Ponte-Leccia and the umanu from Borgo .

Cap Corse

The Cap Corse includes the rugged peninsula north of Bastia, with the wine-growing area limited to the northernmost tip of the same. Especially in historical times, this area was a very large wine region with around 1,500 hectares of vineyards. This area was reduced to just a few hectares (figure from 1983: 30 ha). Mainly dry and sweet white wines are produced here, the grapes come from the varieties Niellucciu, Grenache, Malvoisie, Vermentinu and Muscatellu.

The Clos Nicrosi produced here is considered the best wine in Corsica. It is a dry white wine grown on an area of ​​just six hectares in Toussaint Luigi near the village of Rogliano .

Muscat du Cap Corse

In 1993, the Muscat wines of Cap Corse were given their own AOC seal, the Muscat du Cap Corse . This is used to identify wines from the region that are made from grapes that are stored in wooden boxes after harvest and dried to increase the sugar content: a process that is similar to the production of Vin Santo .

The Muscatellu comes from the same house as the Clos Nicrosi .

Patrimonio

The oldest AOC area is Patrimonio below the Cap Corse peninsula. The cultivation area in this area is limited to about 450 hectares. Despite the early AOC seal, it was not until 1976 that the wines themselves started to be bottled here. The region was known for its rosé wines, which resulted from the fact that red and white grapes usually grow next to each other (in a so-called mixed rate ) on the fields and were harvested together. According to the legislation on the designation of origin, this practice had to be abandoned. In the following years mainly white wines were produced, but the quality was not convincing. Today the focus is on dry red wines and again on rosé wines, which are mainly produced from the Nieluccio grape variety. Other grape varieties are Grenache and Vermentinu.

The most famous wines of the region include U. Furnellu , a cooperatively produced rosé wine, and Dominique Gentile's red Vin de Corse Patrimonio , which is one of the highest quality red wines in Corsica.

As a rare specialty that is very late harvested Grenache and Aleatico grapes, a sweet red dessert wine, rappu made.

Balagne

Domaine de la Figarella wine region

The Balagne is located on the west coast of the island between Calvi and the Désert des Agriates (Agriaten desert), where mainly sandy clay soils can be found. Above all, the Syrah, Sciaccarellu, Vermentinu and Ugni Blanc grape varieties are grown here on around 1,000 hectares up to an altitude of 800 meters. The focus here is also on red wines, but a number of white wines are also produced. The main market here is the tourists, so this location is economically safer than some of the other Corsican wine regions. However, due to the drought, forest fires occur every year, which regularly devastate parts of the vineyards.

Well-known Balagne wines are U Balaninu , a fruity white wine from the Calenzana cooperative , the red wine from the Couvent d'Alzipratu winery in Zilia and the red Clos Landry from Calvi .

Ajaccio

In the area of ​​the capital Ajaccio, the wine is grown on very granite-rich soils. Sciacarello red wines in particular come from this region, as almost 95 percent of all Sciacarello grapes on the island are here. In a red wine with the AOC seal, their share must be at least 40 percent. In addition, there are Corsica's red wines with the deepest color, which are made from grapes that have not been destemmed and accordingly contain a high proportion of tannins . White wines are mainly based on Vermentino.

Well-known wines of the Ajaccio region are Comte Peraldi from the winery of Louis de Poix, Pavigliá from unrapped grapes from Francois Mercurey and Clos Capitoro from the Bianchetti family.

Sartène

Viticulture in the Sartène area takes place in three fundamentally different valley levels, which are characterized by very different conditions, especially the soil quality. A lot of forest areas were cleared on the slopes for viticulture. The cultivation focuses on blue grapes, mainly red and rosé wine is produced. The main wines of the region are Sciaccarellu, Grenache noir and Verentinu, as well as Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Barbarossa, Carignan and Vermentino are grown and processed.

The most famous wines from Sartène include Domaine de San-Michelle by Savaria Polidori de Rocca Serra, Domaine Fiumicoli and Santa Barba .

Figari

The wine-growing areas in Figari have shrunk from around 750 ha to around 100 ha since the early 1970s and are almost exclusively cultivated by a winegrowers' cooperative - due to the difficult sales situation, a further reduction is to be feared. The area is located near the southern tip of Corsica and accordingly represents the southernmost wine region in France. The wines produced here are 60 percent red wines, 30 percent rosé wines and 10 percent white wines.

One of the better-known wines from the Figari region is L'omu di Cagna from the wine cooperative .

Porto Vecchio

In Porto Vecchio, too, wine growing is steadily declining, especially since land prices are rising sharply due to its popularity as a holiday region. The area is particularly important for its numerous cork oaks , which used to make up a large part of the cork industry in Corsica. The wines of the Domaine de Torracia by Christian Imbert are well known, who produce a red wine with 40 percent Niellucio and 35 percent Grenache, a rosé with 60 percent Niellucio and a white wine with 70 percent Vermentino.

More alcoholic drinks in Corsica

In addition to wine, a number of other alcoholic beverages are produced in Corsica, but they are only of local importance:

Wine-based alcoholic beverages

The Cap Corse is produced on the basis of wine, an aperitif with an alcohol content of 15 to 16 percent, which is usually mixed with quinine and various herbs and drunk with ice. Before the Second World War, this drink was also known and sought after outside of Corsica, with around 5 million bottles being filled annually. The wines for the Cap Corse come from the eastern plains, the identity of the name with the AOC area Cap Corse is coincidental. A pomace schnapps is also distilled on the basis of grapes , which is known as eau de vie and, similar to Italian grappa, is served after a meal.

Other alcoholic beverages

Liqueurs are made in Corsica from limes , tree strawberries (arbouses), cedar (a type of lemon from which lemon peel is also extracted), hazelnuts and herbs such as myrtle . The Corsican beer is a specialty. The Pietra is not brewed from grain, but from the flour of sweet chestnuts . It is a relatively sweet, bock beer- like beer with an alcohol content of 6 percent and a slight tannic acid content , which is noticeable in the taste.

literature

• Hubrecht Duijker : The best wines - Rhône and southern France . Albert Müller Verlag, Zurich, Stuttgart, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-275-00891-9 , 1 / 8-86.
• Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7742-0914-6 .
• Pierre Galet : Cépages et Vignobles de France . Lavoisier Publishing House, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7430-0585-8 .
• Benoît France: Grand Atlas des Vignobles de France . Éditions SOLAR publishing house, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-263-03242-8 .
• Norbert Nepaschink, Karl Wolfgang Biehusen: Corsica - correct travel . DuMont Verlag, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7701-3733-7 .
• Peter Meyer: Corsica . Peter Meyer Verlag , Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-89859-100-X .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christopher Foulkes: Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine . Octopus Publishing Group, Hamlyn 2004, ISBN 0-600-60475-6 .
2. ↑ Christopher Foulkes: Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine . Octopus Publishing Group, Hamlyn 2004, ISBN 0-600-60475-6 .
3. ^ Rosemary George: The Wines of the South of France: From Banyuls to St. Raphael . Octopus Publishing Group - Mitchell Beazley 2003, ISBN 1-84000-793-1 .
4. ^ Pierre Galet: Cépages et Vignobles de France . Lavoisier 2004, ISBN 2-7430-0585-8 .
5. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from January 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ weinverkostungen.de: " Wine from Corsica with autochthonous grape varieties "
7. ↑ All figures from: Rosemary George: The Wines of the South of France: From Banyuls to St. Raphael . Octopus Publishing Group - Mitchell Beazley 2003, ISBN 1-84000-793-1 .
8. ^ Rosemary George: The Wines of the South of France: From Banyuls to St. Raphael . Octopus Publishing Group - Mitchell Beazley 2003, ISBN 1-84000-793-1 .
9. ↑ http://www.1001degustations.com/appellation-174-corse.html
10. ↑ http://www.1jour1vin.com/fr/guide-achat-vin/corse/vins-igp-ile-de-beaute
11. ↑ http://www.1001degustations.com/appellation-567-Ile-de-Beauté.html?PHPSESSID=d75e21282d808b48acace6d6f0a4f4c1

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on September 24, 2006 .